Jim Largent’s path to victory may have just gotten narrower, as the Granbury ISD superintendent running a liberal campaign against State Rep. Mike Lang (R–Granbury) just received a vote of no confidence from the Eastland County GOP.
In a statement released shortly after the vote, the Eastland County GOP explained the process and reasoning for the resolution:
On February 20, 2018 the Eastland County Republican Party Executive Committee met in a special session to hear motions from various precinct chairpersons to hold a vote of “no confidence” regarding the candidacy of Jim Largent. Largent is running for State Representative in District 60 that includes Eastland County. The basis of the “no confidence” vote is based on comments and answers made by Largent about the Texas Republican Party Platform. These comments and answers were given during a recent public forum debate on February 15, 2018. The Texas Republican Party Platform contains the tenets and beliefs of the Texas Republican Party. The Executive Committee believes that Largent has failed to formally endorse and support the platform as a true basis for his candidacy. After two hours of debate, the committee voted to approve the motion of “no confidence” in the form of a resolution.
The decision comes on the heels of a candidate debate hosted by the Eastland County GOP last Thursday, during which Largent rejected constitutional carry and property tax reform, and announced his support for subsidized in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Largent’s shocking responses during the debate caused former State Board of Education member Richard Watson to pen a letter to the editor published in Eastland County Today supporting Lang and praising the freshman lawmaker for being on “the right side of all the major issues that concern Texans.”
A recent investigation by Texas Scorecard revealed emails from Largent to Granbury ISD employees in which he bashed statewide Republican leaders, criticized second amendment rights, and compared school choice for special needs students to a “virus.”
Eastland is one of eight counties in House District 60, which covers a large swath of West-Central Texas, and the second to formally condemn Largent’s campaign. Last month Largent received a similar vote of no confidence from the Hood County GOP, his home county, for failing to support the Republican Party of Texas’ platform as well as for his role in the bureaucratic stalling of numerous open records requests at Granbury ISD.
The Republican primary election is March 6th, with early voting currently underway across Texas.
